Pulling Magnets
by lightowl1997
Summary: From the day they met, their relationship has been…complicated. Why? A busy soccer star and a child prodigy captain, possibly in love, but pulled apart by their lives and denial of feelings. Will they realize they're meant to be together before it's too late? Or will they lose their love to complications? Read to find out! First fanfic ever, hope you like it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one:

Kurosaki Karin was worried. She was a tough girl, a warrior, an athlete. But she couldn't help it, and that made her mad. She kept plodding along the lane in the smoldering heat. Ichi-nii was missing, and her stupid dad wasn't even worried! He had to know something!

Didn't he? She'd learned her brother was soul reaper, but the moment she'd confronted him about it, was the last time she'd seen him. "Great!" She thought to herself angrily. "NOW I'm pissed." With no one around to whack, she vented her anger on the bagged soccer ball at her waist.

It was just her luck that the damned thing found the only hole in her bag to slip through. The force of her super-kick sent the ball sailing through the air and it landing on the precipice of a small hill with a street on the other side. "Crap!" she thought, "I can't lose it, the guys would kill me!"

Karin surged forward in blind determination; she would NOT let her ball get flattened under a car. She was even prepared to go running into the freeway if need b-

Someone had trapped her ball. Karin stopped short, eyes traveling up from his foot as he knelt to pick it up. Her eyes widened slightly. It was a boy about her age, dressed in a black polo and jeans, with a shock of snowy white hair. His topaz eyes met hers for a moment before he lightly tossed her the soccer ball. "That was dangerous, be more careful"

When she looked up she was alone with her ball and pounding heart.

"Thanks," she muttered to no one in particular. What had just happened?

Toshirou blinked. "YOU'RE KUROSAKI'S SISTER?" he hadn't been expecting that. Though thinking back on it, she could sense hollows and soul reapers, had obviously encountered such oddities before, and had crazy athletic ability. How could this girl NOT have been the substitute's sister?

Karin nodded, and then surprised him by grabbing his shoulders "Do you know where my brother is?"

The boy paused. Not quite sure how to answer. "No, but I know that he's training to become stronger."

"Ah-"her voice cracked, "thanks," Karin rubbed her eyes, quickly smothering any escaping tears and desperately hoping Toshirou would not ask if she was alright. He didn't, and Karin was grateful for that.

Karin pulled herself together, engaging in pleasantries with the energetic Rangiku and teasing Toshirou. She knew he wasn't an elementary student but it was entertaining to poke fun at him. Karin laughed harder than she had in ages; she felt lingering melancholy dry up in the sun. Ichigo was okay! She'd even made some interesting acquaintances.

Of course, she did want to ask him a few questions…."Hey, Toshiro-" Karin looked up, but the boy and his subordinate were gone.

Why the hell did these damn soul reapers feel the need to disappear all the time? She sighed, wondering if it was worth it to go track him down. In a small part of her mind, Karin began to notice the guys waking up. Then reality hit, what on earth were they going to think?

"That was some pretty freakish wind there,"

"Dude, it even ripped a hole in the playing field!"

"Hey is Kurosaki alright-"

"Yeah"

One turned and yelled over, "Ooyyyyy! Kurosaki! Don't worry I'm sure they'll fix the field soon!"

Scratch that, these idiots didn't have the mental capacity to think. Let alone to give her trouble by asking questions she couldn't answer. She was safe, relatively speaking.

The next day proved to be a sore one with her injured knee, but she couldn't keep herself from walking the dirt path to the soccer field for practice. Her friends, secretly worried about her, suggested they cancel the day's practice in light of the gaping holes across the fields. Karin assumed they were afraid of tripping and requested they play against her all at the same time as punishment. Her friends haughtily accepted the challenge, on the grounds that the loser would eat dried gum off the ground.

Karin knew she outmatched these boys by ten to one, at the very least, when it came to soccer skills; and she was determined to prepare them for any more impromptu challenges. The boys spread out, confident that she'd never get past their wall. The game started and Karin had the ball, darting back and forth while running in the direction of the increasingly nervous blockade.

Karin's muscles strained and the sun misted her forehead with perspiration, _almost there_ she thought. _And….NOW_! Much to the surprise of her companions, Karin suddenly kicked the ball in a high arch above their heads. Their moment's distraction gave her just enough time to dive between two boys, roll to a standing _position_, and continue running again in a matter of seconds. The ball landed and Karin flung it into the goal while the keeper stood frozen, openmouthed. Karin swiped an arm across her damp forehead and laughed at their faces, this game was going to be fun!

She'd won of course; and much to the relief of her friends, she hadn't forced them to keep their end of the challenge. The terrified looks on their faces when she'd scored the winning goal, had been priceless and had definitely beat anything Karin would have seen while they chewed on tasteless sugar and dried saliva. Karin snorted softly as she walked through a short cut on her way home; it was a shaded little street running between two buildings.

Her knee chose that moment of course to start loudly complaining and she bent down to rub it. She paused for another second or so to duck down her head and tie her hair up. All of the sudden she felt a stagnant wind hit her hard in the neck, _well that's weird_ she thought, _pretty unseasonable for hot winds to be blowing…down?_ Karin found herself face to mask with an ugly hollow and froze. Her breath came out in quick puffs and her brain raced as she tried to figure out the situation.

She saw it rear back and knew she had only seconds before it struck. She glanced around taking note of her surroundings: they were about three feet apart and hardly visible in the dark of the path, nobody would see her at odds with some unseen foe. She knew what she had to do. _I can get out of this alive, I know I can! I just have to focus, _she took a breath, and then a running start.

Then Karin bent her knees and vaulted over its descending head. The monster, mouth agape, roared as she spring boarded off its back, did an airborne summersault, and landed with a large kick to its center. Karin sprang to the ground, rolled to absorb the impact and came up standing. The creature dissolved, as its very particles came undone from the force of her blow. She smirked at the dissipating particles, _easier than I thought._

Karin sighed, and then felt a cold chill down her spine, as if someone were watching her. She shrugged, _If there is really someone there and they're too chicken to face me, then they're no concern of mine._ Then she swaggered off, chuckling to herself, confident that no person or thing could ever hope to best her. Not in this world anyways.

She was confident in her skills of perception, but her detection couldn't contend with a captains concealing kido. Hitsugaya had slipped though, if only for a moment, because he was shocked. The young captain had been tracking two large concentrations of power, a human and a hollow. It hadn't surprised him that they'd met, seeing as hollows often came seeking such high concentrations. He hadn't even been all that surprised to see Karin was the human. But Hitsugaya **had**, been surprised, when he saw a human being blow a hollow to smithereens with one kick. That was just…impossible.

He was going to need to sit down. So, perched on the edge of a building he tried to puzzle it all out. Eventually he did, and subsequently went to find the source of his confusion. By that time the sun was all but gone from the sky. He strained to see the remaining afternoon leak away and be replaced by inky blue night.

_Kurosaki Karin_, he thought, _what am I going to do with you?_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two:

Karin stood on the precipice of the roof, looking down at the ground two stories below. Rukia-san had already climbed off to bed, sullen about being unable to locate Karin's brother. Karin was alone in her favorite place to relax.

Checking her balance on the edge, Karin tilted up her head for a good view of the stars. It was the best up here, in this spot, at this time. At this height the trees and surrounding buildings couldn't obstruct her vision, and the few dim lights in the suburbs had been switched off as it was nearing midnight. _This is perfect_, she thought, _except for the part where I'm a human Popsicle admiring the stars_. The wind was blowing frigidly and she shuffled her feet closer together to keep warm.

Suddenly a blast of wind, so cold she could have sworn she saw the air freeze, blasted her from behind. Karin tried to shift her weight to balance on the edge, suddenly frightened as she tilted dangerously forward. The lace of her sneaker was caught under a roof tile. She gritted her teeth against the cold that had nothing to do with the temperature.

She balanced precariously on one leg and she desperately yanked her foot forwards, growing more jittery and scared the longer she stood there trapped. Cold, frightened, and angry Karin gave one last irate tug, effectively freeing her lace and leg. Unfortunately the momentum of the tug was enough to send her tilting over the edge and into the abyss. _What a shitty way to die_ she thought, as a tear forced its way out of her eye.

Then Karin hit a wall. "Karin?" Since when did walls talk? Or float in the air?

Karin's eye's snapped open and met those of her rescuer. "Toshirou?"

"Captain Hitsugaya," he paused, "Care to explain why you were jumping off a roof?"

"I fell" she said flatly. Karin found herself balanced by her shoulder against one of his arms while one of her feet stayed positioned on the edge of the shingles; as he stood, apparently, on thin air. Karin felt dizzy.

He saw her look then took her other shoulder and pushed her into a stable standing position on the rooftop. "Karin," he ordered "breathe!" Karin looked surprised and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "You could have died!" he said severely. Karin was startled, but chose not to say anything, the boy seemed to realize he was yelling then adopted a more nonchalant tone. "That was stupid anyways…..so, you should have paid attention to where you were putting your feet!"

Hitsugaya didn't know why he had gotten so worked up, he wasn't sure what to say. Luckily for him, Karin did, "I was looking at the stars, and I got cold. I guess I was just distracted. The stars look really pretty here," she trailed off then, so quietly he wasn't sure if she'd even said anything, said "thanks," Another tear streamed down her face, shining in the light of a billion twinkling stars, she'd been so scared.

Hitsugaya said nothing, but squeezed her hand lightly then let go. He and Karin sat there on the roof, staring at the stars, "You're so stupid" he said after a long silence.

"What?" she asked, confused "Why? What's you're damn problem?" _Why would he say that? Is he mad about having to come and save me? It's not my fault! Well it is my fault… but I didn't ask to be saved! What's his problem? _

He looked at her stoically until she was finished having her internal inspection, "Are you done?" Karin nodded, still looking lost. "You didn't have to thank me, I don't mind saving you." Hitsugaya looked up, blushing slightly and hoping the light was low enough that she couldn't see. "I promise I'll always be there to save you from any stupid situation you get yourself into!"

Karin's head snapped up, she looked abashed at his sudden declaration. "What?" she said, not sure if she'd heard correctly.

Hitsugaya said nothing, but he was incredibly embarrassed. _How could I have said that?_ He'd blurted it out on impulse. He jumped off the roof, edgy and nervous. His only thought to get away from Karin.

"Toshirou? Toshirou! She called after him until he disappeared.

_Do I smell bad or something?_ She sniffed herself to determine relative cleanliness. Karin shrugged and carefully made her way back down to bed.

* * *

**'Sup yall? So I'm a first timer, but I'd appreciate some useful feedback. Review!**

**Yes, I realize these two never met in the manga, as I'm familiar with both the manga and the anime. However I love these two and will defend their right to be a fictional couple to the ends of the Earth. That doesn't mean I'll be following that ridiculous filler episode "Visiting Granny number two with Karin-Crap" with my story. That was just so OOC it's not even funny. I mean it was really kind of sad if you think about it. So ummm... yeah that's about it. **

**Don't forget to review. I wont post chapter three until I get at least two. **

**I've got no idea what Kubo is up to these days. I can't say I hate where the story is going, and the Quincy war needed to happen to tie off the loose ends that Uryu left in the beginning of Bleach, but if he kills everyone in soul society I'm going to erase this arc from my memory and continue writing accordingly. **

**That is all. **

**AND REVIEW PLEASE.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hitsugaya could have banged his head against a wall, ignoring the fact that if he did so the wall would probably be reduced to rubble, he'd meant to talk to Karin about how she'd killed a hollow the day before. He figured it'd been a weak hollow going for what it thought would be an easy meal. The crazed soul had gotten more than it had bargained for, the fact of the matter being that Karin had a ridiculously strong density of spirit pressure. Thinking logically, it was no surprise that the hollow's very molecules had unraveled because of her blow.

But it wouldn't hurt to mention it to her that there would be some hollows with a density greater than hers. She'd be better off if she knew to avoid those, as opposed to lobbing soccer balls at their heads. The only thing that worried him was the fact that some of these stronger hollows would intentionally seek her out. He didn't think the soul reaper assigned to this area could handle anything stronger than Karin could, so if a more powerful hollow attacked nobody would be able to help her. The whole mess was giving him a headache. So he turned his attention back to the fight he was in the middle of.

"Matsumoto, report!" he barked irritably while easily sidestepping an enraged hollow. The monster swung viciously at him with large spiky arms. Hitsugaya, tired of dodging, slid out his sword and ended the hollow within a matter of seconds before replacing the weapon at his hilt.

"Growl Haineko". She whispered quietly, and finishing off three hollows below her. "Threat neutralized Captain!" She called.

"Good." He paused to think for a moment, Is Inoue Orhime back from her classes yet?" asked the Captain.

"She should be. But, Why?" said his lieutenant swiveling her head to look at him. Her eyes widened, he was already gone.

Hitsugaya arrived back at the girl's apartment before she did. He was waiting impatiently in the kitchen when she opened the door.

"Hello? Hitsuguya-kun, Rangiku-san? Are you-" Inoue caught sight of him. "Can I help you with something Hitsuguya-kun?"

He considered the question for a moment before answering the seemingly cheerful girl, "Yes you can." She looked surprised, "Do you know where the elementary school is?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Yes, it's about two blocks south of the high school. Why?" she asked him.

Although, he was already heading out he paused for a moment to reply, "I'm looking for an elementary school student." Then, with his gigai on, he nodded to Inoue before sprinting out the door and catapulting over the railing. He landed on his feet, on the concrete twenty feet below.

He gave the young woman a quick backward glance before sprinting off towards the school. He really hadn't done anything, but Inoue looked so dejected you'd think someone had just slapped her.

Toshirou hadn't said anything at the time, but he wondered if that was how she always looked when no one was around: As If the face she wore around everyone was nothing more than a mask.

Toshirou arrived at the school about forty minutes after the dismissal bell rang. He walked into the courtyard where the majority of the students were still milling about, staying back to play with friends. He scanned the crowd and found a friend of Karin's, the boy with the large afro. The fuzzy headed kid was standing at the edge of a large crowd. The captain wove through the crowd and tapped the boy on the shoulder. "Have you seen Karin?" he asked the boy.

The boy looked up at him, obviously confused and irritated at the question. "Are you stupid?" Karin's friend paused for a moment, "Who are you anyways?" he said crossing his arms.

Toshirou was surprised because he'd been certain the boy would remember him. Then the captain remembered he was wearing a hat, to cover his attention-bringing hair. Toshirou tilted the hat upwards so his white hair would be visible. The child's eyes widened in recognition,

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" said the kid, his smile widening.

"Where is Karin?" asked Toshirou

The fuzzy headed kid just smirked a pointed to the center of the circle of people that had gathered around. "What do yo-?" Toshirou was about to ask.

Suddenly he was interrupted by "What is your flipping problem?!" coming from the center of the circle.

Toshirou sighed, "So that's where she is." He was a fool to have thought anything else, as always, Karin was right in the middle of everything. Leaving Karin's friend on the outskirts he shouldered his way into the inner edge of the circle. The crowd watched as Karin faced off against two angry looking boys. Maybe "boys" was stretching it. They looked like they'd failed the fifth grade one too many times. Karin was standing in front of a small boy curled in a ball and sobbing.

"Kurosaki! Just let us have him!" said the first threatening kid.

"He was supposed to pay us back for messing with us the other day!" said the second smiling evilly, "the toll for irritating one of our members is fifty dollars. We gave him a week to collect it"

"B-but" the little boy stuttered, "I didn't mean to trip you! It was an accident" he looked terrified.

"Would all of you just shut up already?" said Karin. She looked irritated. The three boys in the center with her jumped and the entire field went silent. Toshirou wondered why everyone seemed so scared of her. Sure Karin had crazy athletic ability and a scary attitude, but these children reacted like she was a crazed pit-bull: Dangerous and unpredictable.

Karin sent the thugs her best glare. She smiled with satisfaction when it made them quiver in their shoes. "What, did you pick him because you thought he'd be easy?" she said, "Only cowards pick on the weak. You two are no better than dogs." Karin said dismissively. The thugs bristled at that but she paid them no mind.

She turned and then kneeled next to the little boy. He was still crying and trembling but looked up at her approach. "Quit your whining and go play with your friends!" she said. He nodded so fast you'd think he was more scared of her than the thugs. Shakily he got to his feet. Then, still shaky and nervous looking, he tripped and stumbled his way out of the circle and over to his friends. "Thank you," he squeaked before making his way out of the schoolyard.

As she nodded in his direction and made to leave the circle, Toshirou noticed some activity on its other end. The two boys smiled at each other evilly, like they were plotting something. Toshirou's eyes narrowed, _what are they planning? _He thought. Nobody else seemed to be paying them any attention.

Karin had scooped up her things. Then she turned and begun making her way toward the front of the school at a fast pace. Suddenly, the two nodded to each other and rushed Karin from behind. She still didn't seem to notice them and looked more worried about getting through the school gates. Toshirou started towards her but he knew that in his gigai he couldn't reach her before the thugs did. Karin had to notice.

She had to. Toshirou kept running.

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**Hey people. Wrote the majority of this today. Finally got inspiration to finish. Read Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I love Percy and Annabeth. But I'm so mad, I just spent the last year waiting for this book to come out because the last one ended with a cliffhanger. And this one ends with another flipping cliffhanger. AND the next one doesn't come out until next fall. Whyyyyyyyyyy? I don't want to end up older than the main characters. But at the same time, it did keep me hooked in the series.  
**

**Contemplating**** writing a Percy Jackson fanfic now...**

**But that is besides the point. Tell me how I did on this chapter, review. And to my three reviewers from last time, thank you so much for your support.**

**If you're new thanks for reading. NOW REVIEW! Please tell me how it is.**

**Trying to join the National English Honor Society. I'm gonna do Nano Wrimo next month too! So updates might be slower after Halloween but I'll try my best. **

**Thanks for reading. **

**REVIEW NOW.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Toshirou saw everything from behind. It wasn't much of a fight; real fights lasted longer than a minute. This didn't even warrant being called a scuffle. It was over within seconds. Karin's two assaulters had run in curved loops, parallel to each other, towards her. They obviously planned to ram into her from both sides but she hadn't taken notice of them yet.

He speculated that, in a fair fight, she'd have a chance at the two. But this wasn't fair, both of them were twice her size and she was being ambushed. Toshirou was heading in their direction but he knew he wouldn't get there in time. If both boys hit her at once she was bound to get hurt. _Think Toshirou think, you're a captain for god's sake. You ought to be good in a battle. _He racked his thoughts for a solution but his mind felt like it was going blank. What could he do to warn her? He had limited time before they reached her. Then it hit him.

"Karin!" he yelled, the sound of his voice resounding across the courtyard, "behind you!"

Karin almost seemed to freeze for a moment, like she was itching to swivel her head in his direction, but then she kept walking. Toshirou wondered if he'd imagined seeing anything. They were less than three feet away from her. Toshirou sucked in a breath to try again but in that moment the two thugs leapt, arms slung before them, with the apparent intention to tackle her from both sides. The world seemed to slow; milliseconds passed like hours as he watched, worriedly, what transpired. Karin flipped her head in his general direction and smirked. _What?_

Then she bent her knees and ducked as the two boys collided in the place she'd been standing. The two fell to the ground inches behind Karin and the world seemed to speed up again. Toshirou finally reached her, in time for Karin to stand up. The crowd was silent and wide-eyed.

Karin looked at him, "Thought that was you," she said smiling. Toshirou's face didn't portray any of his previous worry as He nodded at her. He was glad she wasn't hurt, but he couldn't understand why he'd been so concerned. Was it because Ichigo would murder him if something happened to Karin that Toshirou could have stopped? He had the feeling that he was missing the answer. Maybe he'd been concerned because they were friends?

"So want to tell me why you've decided to appear at my school?" Asked Karin, pulling him out of his reverie. "Gosh you're not stalking me are you?" She said, only half-joking. She really did want to know why he was here. Toshirou realized he hadn't said a word yet. "Or are you finally admitting to being an elementary school student?"

Toshiro bristled, "I'm not an elementary school student," he said irritably. "I'm here because I have something important to discuss with you-" he noticed Karin looking over his shoulder, "are you even listening?"

"Yeah, I am." She said, turning her eyes back at him. "But," her expression grew serious, "We've gotta get out of here, fast"

"Why?" he followed her gaze but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Karin why are you in such a hurry-" he stopped. Karin was already five paces away and nearing the front of the school. Toshirou made to start sprinting after her, but something made the girl stop in her tracks.

A plump lady in a badly fitting blue suit shouted " Kurosaki! You get back here this instant!" Karin screeched to a halt and swiveled around with a fake smile plastered on her face. Toshirou raised an eyebrow at her, which she ignored.

"Yes principal Reiko?" responded Karin coolly.

"I told you that I there was one more school wide disturbance from you it was over!" said the woman angrily.

Karin's usual demeanor seemed to be dissipating, "But there was a little kid, and no one was even going to help-"

"I don't see a little child in need of help." The principal retorted.

"But he, um…." She tried to respond, flustered beyond words.

"That is enough of you and your excuses! You are expelled! In fact, I'm going to the office right now to fill out the papers!" the hag said triumphantly, and began to head off.

Karin was looking panicked. "No, wait! Plea-"

"If you would be so kind as to wait a few moments, I think we can settle this out quite easily." A voice muttered into her ear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Toshirou running out the school gates, and Toshirou standing beside her.

"Huh?" _what is going on? _She thought. Then Toshirou, much to her increasing chagrin, gripped her hand. Karin's eyes narrowed, "What are you-".

She didn't get a chance to finish her question.

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** Sorry, it's another short one and a cliffhanger. But I'm writing the next chapter by next Saturday. I will have it posted by then under one condition, which I'm sure you can guess.**

**I request five reviews, even if you want to tell me that this story is lame. I need feedback to improve. **

**Tried Nano Wrimo but I was really busy with school. I did end up joining English Honor society though. It was pretty cool. **

**So thanks for reading, I appreciate reviews. So please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW...**


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